Yelduz Shrine was chartered on July 14, 1904, sponsored by El Zagal Shrine Center of Fargo, North Dakota, as the 92nd of 191 Shrine Centers. Drawing Nobles from northern South Dakota and southern North Dakota, Yelduz—called a “Temple” until 1999—holds exclusive jurisdiction in Brown County and concurrent jurisdiction across a region roughly 250 miles east–west and 50 miles north–south, primarily in the state’s northeast quadrant.

N. Howard Wendell, a prominent early Aberdeen businessman, served as Yelduz’s first Potentate. The temple’s inaugural meeting was held October 6, 1904, when installing officers and members from El Zagal arrived by train and marched up Main Street to the Masonic Lodge for the formal christening. “Yelduz” is Turkish for “star.” Imperial Sir J.F. Trent made the first Imperial Potentate visit on October 12, 1911. Yelduz remained in the Masonic Lodge until 1970, when it moved to its current location at 802 South Main Street.

Today Yelduz counts over 530 Nobles, most of whom belong to one of 24 parade units.

The temple conducts numerous annual fundraising events to support Shriners Hospitals, which provide care free of charge to patients. Regular activities include the Shrine Football Game, the Shrine Circus, aluminum can drives, laser-cartridge recycling programs, Road Runner pancake breakfasts, and other community fundraisers, augmented by memorials and endowments that bolster hospital and Road Runner support.

For Yelduz’s 100th anniversary in 2004, El Zagal Shrine returned to participate in the Gypsy Day parade. In a celebratory gesture, the Shrine Horse Patrol rode to Fargo to retrieve the original charter and returned it to Yelduz on September 25, 2004, with the Imperial Potentate from Baltimore participating in the ceremony. Yelduz was a charter member of the Midwest Shrine Association and has hosted its sessions multiple times, including summer sessions in 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1996, and 2019.